Garment side panel conveyor system and method

ABSTRACT

A method for positioning side panels during manufacture of a pant includes positioning the side panels on side panel transfer devices. The side panels move perpendicular to a pant transport plane as the pant is transported in the machine direction and the side panels reside on the side panel transfer devices. The side panels can include refastenable fastening components. The method and apparatus can move the fastening components closer together in the cross-machine direction or maintain the fastening components at a constant cross-machine position while the side panels reside on the side panel transfer devices.

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No.60/204,486 filed on May 16, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to processes and apparatus for makinggarments, and more particularly to processes and apparatus for makingprefastened and refastenable garments.

Garments such as disposable absorbent garments have numerousapplications including diapers, training pants, feminine care products,and adult incontinence products. The typical disposable absorbentgarment is formed as a composite structure including an absorbentassembly disposed between a liquid permeable bodyside liner and a liquidimpermeable outer cover. These components can be combined with othermaterials and features such as elastic materials and containmentstructures to form a product that is specifically suited to its intendedpurposes.

Manufacturing techniques for making conventional garments are in somerespects inadequate for making new product forms, such as prefastenedand refastenable garments. Hence, what is lacking and needed in the artare processes and apparatus for making prefastened and refastenablegarments, such as disposable absorbent garments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In response to the above-referenced unfulfilled need in the art, newprocesses and apparatus for making prefastened and refastenable garmentshave been discovered. In one aspect, the invention concerns a method forpositioning side panels during manufacture of a pant. The methodcomprises transporting a pant in a machine direction, thus defining apant transport plane and a z-direction perpendicular to the panttransport plane. The pant has at least one waist region comprisingopposite side panels. The side panels are positioned on side paneltransfer devices, where each side panel transfer device defines a sidepanel transport path which intersects the pant transport plane.According to this method, the side panels move in the z-direction whilethe pant is transported in the machine direction and the side panelsreside on the side panel transfer devices.

The z-direction movement can be useful in many embodiments, but may beparticularly useful where the side panels include fastening componentsand it is desired to move the fastening components closer together inthe transverse direction. For instance, the fastening components can bepositioned closer together by creating an elevation difference betweenportions of the waist region containing the fastening components andanother portion of the waist region. In particular embodiments, thefastening components can be disposed in the side panels, and theabsorbent chassis and/or side panels can be repositioned to create anelevation difference between at least a portion of the absorbent chassisand the side panels.

Hence, in some embodiments for carrying out the method, at leastportions of the side panels are allowed to move inwardly toward themachine center line while the pant is transported in the machinedirection and the side panels reside on the side panel transfer devices.This inward movement can be useful in preparing the side panels forattachment to the opposite waist region. In other embodiments describedin greater detail below, the side panels can be maintained at a constantcross-machine direction position while the pant is transported in themachine direction and the side panels reside on the side panel transferdevices.

In another aspect, the invention concerns a method for making aprefastened and refastenable pant. The method comprises transporting afolded pant in a machine direction, where the folded pant has oppositefirst and second waist regions in facing relation. The first waistregion includes first side panels comprising initially inward-facingfastening components and the second waist region includes second sidepanels comprising initially outward-facing fastening components. In thisembodiment, the initially outward-facing fastening components can beinverted. The method further comprises transporting the first sidepanels on side panel transfer devices while the folded pant istransported in the machine direction. While the first side panels arebeing transported on the side panel transfer devices, the initiallyinward-facing fastening components are moved toward the invertedinitially outward-facing fastening components. The initiallyinward-facing fastening components and inverted initially outward-facingfastening components can then be engaged with one another.

In various embodiments, portions of the first side panels can moveinwardly toward a machine center line while the folded pant istransported in the machine direction and the first side panels reside onthe side panel transfer devices. In particular embodiments, the firstside panels can be moved inwardly such that fastening componentsdisposed on the first side panels are aligned in a cross machinedirection with fastening components disposed on the second side panels.This may be useful where the second side panels are folded during theprocess. For example, the second side panels can comprise initiallyoutward-facing fastening components and the second side panels can beinwardly folded such that the initially outward-facing fasteningcomponents are facing inward toward the first side panels.

In particular embodiments, the initially inward-facing fasteningcomponents can be separated from one another by an initial distance andthe initially outward-facing fastening components can be separated fromone another by substantially the same initial distance. In the contextof the present invention, the distance between initially inward-facingfastening components and the distance between the initiallyoutward-facing fastening components both refer to the transverse lineardistance between the fastening components. “Transverse linear distance”is used herein to refer to the distance between two fasteningcomponents, measured in a straight line parallel to the transverse axisof the garment without regard to surface contours of the garment. Theremay or may not be any force exerted in the transverse direction at thetime of measurement.

In another aspect, the invention concerns a method for making a pant.The method comprises providing a pant chassis defining a first waistregion, a second waist region, a crotch region which extends between andinterconnects the waist regions, first side panels disposed in the firstwaist region and second side panels disposed in the second waist region.The pant chassis is folded about a fold line extending in a lateraldirection through the crotch region, such that the waist regions andfirst and second side panels are positioned in a facing relation. Thefolded pant chassis is transported in a machine direction thus defininga pant transport plane and a z-direction perpendicular to the panttransport plane. The first side panels are transported on side paneltransfer devices while the folded pant chassis is transported in themachine direction. Each side panel transfer device defines a side paneltransport path which intersects the pant transport plane. The first sidepanels are moved in the z-direction toward the second side panels whilethe first side panels are transported on the side panel transferdevices. This allows the first and second side panels to be refastenablyengaged.

In another aspect, the invention concerns an apparatus comprising firstand second conveyors adapted to transport a stream of discrete,partially assembled and folded pants sandwiched between the conveyors ina machine direction. The conveyors define a machine center line and apant transport plane. Side panel transfer devices are disposedtransversely outward from the machine center line, and each side paneltransfer device defines a side panel transport path which intersects thepant transport plane.

The side panel transfer devices can be angled toward the pant transportplane at downstream machine direction locations. In this case, the sidepanel transfer devices can come together with one of the conveyors todefine a nip therebetween. Alternatively, the side panel transferdevices can be angled away from the pant transport plane at downstreammachine direction locations.

The processes and apparatus described herein can be useful in making awide variety of garments. The waist regions of such garments can havethe same transverse width dimensions or have different width dimension.Moreover, the processes and apparatus can be applied to one or bothwaist regions. Accordingly, the term “first waist region” can correspondto either the front or the back waist region.

The garment can be folded in half through the crotch region by a varietyof mechanisms. It may be desirable to maintain separation of the sidepanels and separation of the fastening components while the product isfolded in half. The fastening components can be engaged simultaneouslyor sequentially with folding of the pant.

The fastening components can comprise separate elements bonded toanother component of the pant. Alternatively, the fastening componentscan comprise a portion of another element of the pant, such as thebodyside liner, the outer cover, separate side panels if employed,integral side panels if employed, a belt-type component extendingtransversely across the chassis if employed, or the like. Thus, unlessotherwise specified, the term “fastening component” includes bothseparate components which function as fasteners and regions of materialssuch as side panels, liners, outer covers or the like which function asfasteners. Moreover, a single material can define multiple fasteningcomponents to the extent that different regions of the material functionas separate fasteners. The fastening components can be located on theside panels, between the side panels such as on the absorbent chassis,or a combination of the two. The fastening components can have anydesired shape, such as square, rectangular, round, curved, oval,irregularly shaped, or the like. Each fastening component can comprise asingle fastening element or multiple fastening elements.

The fastening components can comprise any refastenable fastenerssuitable for absorbent articles, such as adhesive fasteners, cohesivefasteners, mechanical fasteners, or the like. In particular embodimentsthe fastening components comprise mechanical fastening elements forimproved performance. Suitable mechanical fastening elements can beprovided by interlocking geometric shaped materials, such as hooks,loops, bulbs, mushrooms, arrowheads, balls on stems, male and femalemating components, buckles, snaps, or the like. In particularembodiments, the fastening components and mating fastening componentscomprise hook-and-loop fastening elements. One skilled in the art willrecognize that the shape, density and polymer composition of the hooksand loops may be selected to obtain the desired level of securementbetween the fastening components and the mating fastening components. Amore aggressive hook material may comprise a material with a greateraverage hook height, a greater percentage of directionally-alignedhooks, or a more aggressive hook shape.

A refastenable fastening system allows for easy inspection of theinterior of the pant-like product. If necessary, the fastening systemalso allows the pant to be removed quickly and easily. This isparticularly beneficial when the pant contains messy excrement. Fortraining pants, the caregiver can completely remove the pant-likeproduct and replace it with a new one without having to remove thechild's shoes and clothing.

The present invention can be used in the manufacture of a wide varietyof absorbent and non-absorbent products, including training pants, swimpants, diaper pants, incontinence garments, feminine care products,health care garments, apparel for institutional, industrial and consumeruse, or other garments. Absorbent articles are adapted to be wornadjacent to the body of a wearer to absorb and contain various exudatesdischarged from the body. The absorbent articles can be prefastened toprovide a pant-like product for the user. The product can then be pulledon like a conventional training pant, and subsequently checked orremoved with the ease of a diaper-like product. Moreover, the productmay be applied like a diaper rather than like a pant. Supplementalreleasable fastening means such as frangible point bonds may be employedto maintain the absorbent article in a pant configuration until the userintentionally disengages the fasteners.

Particular training pants suitable for use with the present inventionare disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/444,083, filed onNov. 22, 1999 (corresponding to PCT application WO 00/37009 publishedJun. 29, 2000) by A. Fletcher et al. and titled “Absorbent Articles WithRefastenable Side Seams;” which is incorporated herein by reference.This reference describes various materials and methods for constructingtraining pants. Training pants can also be constructed using the methodsand apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,464 issued Jul. 10, 1990to Van Gompel et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,389 issued Jun. 16, 1998to Brandon et al.; which are also incorporated herein by reference.

DEFINITIONS

Within the context of this specification, each term or phrase below willinclude the following meaning or meanings.

“Bonded” refers to the joining, adhering, connecting, attaching, or thelike, of two elements. Two elements will be considered to be bondedtogether when they are bonded directly to one another or indirectly toone another, such as when each is directly bonded to intermediateelements.

“Comprising” is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional,unrecited elements or method steps.

“Connected” refers to the joining, adhering, bonding, attaching, or thelike, of two elements. Two elements will be considered to be connectedtogether when they are connected directly to one another or indirectlyto one another, such as when each is directly connected to intermediateelements.

“Disposable” refers to articles which are designed to be discarded aftera limited use rather than being laundered or otherwise restored forreuse.

“Disposed,” “disposed on,” and variations thereof are intended to meanthat one element can be integral with another element, or that oneelement can be a separate structure bonded to or placed with or placednear another element.

“Elastic,” “elasticized” and “elasticity” mean that property of amaterial or composite by virtue of which it tends to recover itsoriginal size and shape after removal of a force causing a deformation.

“Elastomeric” refers to a material or composite which can be elongatedby at least 25 percent of its relaxed length and which will recover,upon release of the applied force, at least 10 percent of itselongation. It is generally preferred that the elastomeric material orcomposite be capable of being elongated by at least 100 percent, morepreferably by at least 300 percent, of its relaxed length and recover,upon release of an applied force, at least 50 percent of its elongation.

“Fabrics” is used to refer to all of the woven, knitted and nonwovenfibrous webs.

“Flexible” refers to materials which are compliant and which willreadily conform to the general shape and contours of the wearer's body.

“Force” includes a physical influence exerted by one body on anotherwhich produces acceleration of bodies that are free to move anddeformation of bodies that are not free to move. Force is expressed ingrams per unit area.

“Graphic” refers to any design, pattern, or the like that is visible onan absorbent article.

“Hydrophilic” describes fibers or the surfaces of fibers which arewetted by the aqueous liquids in contact with the fibers. The degree ofwetting of the materials can, in turn, be described in terms of thecontact angles and the surface tensions of the liquids and materialsinvolved. Equipment and techniques suitable for measuring thewettability of particular fiber materials or blends of fiber materialscan be provided by a Cahn SFA-222 Surface Force Analyzer System, or asubstantially equivalent system. When measured with this system, fibershaving contact angles less than 90° are designated “wettable” orhydrophilic, while fibers having contact angles greater than 90° aredesignated “nonwettable” or hydrophobic.

“Integral” is used to refer to various portions of a single unitaryelement rather than separate structures bonded to or placed with orplaced near one another.

“Inward” and “outward” refer to positions relative to the center of anabsorbent article, and particularly transversely and/or longitudinallycloser to or away from the longitudinal and transverse center of theabsorbent article.

“Layer” when used in the singular can have the dual meaning of a singleelement or a plurality of elements.

“Liquid impermeable”, when used in describing a layer or multi-layerlaminate, means that a liquid, such as urine, will not pass through thelayer or laminate, under ordinary use conditions, in a directiongenerally perpendicular to the plane of the layer or laminate at thepoint of liquid contact. Liquid, or urine, may spread or be transportedparallel to the plane of the liquid impermeable layer or laminate, butthis is not considered to be within the meaning of “liquid impermeable”when used herein.

“Longitudinal” and “transverse” have their customary meaning. Thelongitudinal axis lies in the plane of the article and is generallyparallel to a vertical plane that bisects a standing wearer into leftand right body halves when the article is worn. The transverse axis liesin the plane of the article generally perpendicular to the longitudinalaxis. The article as illustrated is longer in the longitudinal directionthan in the transverse direction.

“Member” when used in the singular can have the dual meaning of a singleelement or a plurality of elements.

“Nonwoven” and “nonwoven web” refer to materials and webs of materialwhich are formed without the aid of a textile weaving or knittingprocess.

“Operatively joined,” with reference to the attachment of an elasticmember to another element, means that the elastic member when attachedto or connected to the element, or treated with heat or chemicals, bystretching, or the like, gives the element elastic properties; and withreference to the attachment of a non-elastic member to another element,means that the member and element can be attached in any suitable mannerthat permits or allows them to perform the intended or describedfunction of the joinder. The joining, attaching, connecting or the likecan be either directly, such as joining either member directly to anelement, or can be indirectly by means of another member disposedbetween the first member and the first element.

“Outer cover graphic” refers to a graphic that is directly visible uponinspection of the exterior surface of a garment, and for a refastenablegarment is in reference to inspection of the exterior surface of thegarment when the fastening system is engaged as it would be during use.

“Permanently bonded” refers to the joining, adhering, connecting,attaching, or the like, of two elements of an absorbent garment suchthat the elements tend to be and remain bonded during normal useconditions of the absorbent garment.

“Refastenable” refers to the property of two elements being capable ofreleasable attachment, separation, and subsequent releasablereattachment without substantial permanent deformation or rupture.

“Releasably attached,” “releasably engaged” and variations thereof referto two elements being connected or connectable such that the elementstend to remain connected absent a separation force applied to one orboth of the elements, and the elements being capable of separationwithout substantial permanent deformation or rupture. The requiredseparation force is typically beyond that encountered while wearing theabsorbent garment.

“Rupture” means the breaking or tearing apart of a material; in tensiletesting, the term refers to the total separation of a material into twoparts either all at once or in stages, or the development of a hole insome materials.

“Stretch bonded” refers to an elastic member being bonded to anothermember while the elastic member is extended at least about 25 percent ofits relaxed length. Desirably, the term “stretch bonded” refers to thesituation wherein the elastic member is extended at least about 100percent, and more desirably at least about 300 percent, of its relaxedlength when it is bonded to the other member.

“Stretch bonded laminate” refers to a composite material having at leasttwo layers in which one layer is a gatherable layer and the other layeris an elastic layer. The layers are joined together when the elasticlayer is in an extended condition so that upon relaxing the layers, thegatherable layer is gathered.

“Surface” includes any layer, film, woven, nonwoven, laminate,composite, or the like, whether pervious or impervious to air, gas,and/or liquids.

“Tension” includes a uniaxial force tending to cause the extension of abody or the balancing force within that body resisting the extension.

“Thermoplastic” describes a material that softens when exposed to heatand which substantially returns to a nonsoftened condition when cooledto room temperature.

These terms may be defined with additional language in the remainingportions of the specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features of the present invention and themanner of attaining them will become more apparent, and the inventionitself will be better understood by reference to the followingdescription and the accompanying drawings, wherein similar features indifferent figures have been given the same reference numeral.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an exemplary embodiment of an assemblysection for making garments such as training pants.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of an exemplary embodiment of a foldingsection for making garments such as training pants, the folding sectionfollowing the assembly section shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of one embodiment of a method andapparatus for making garments according to the present invention, theview illustrating a seaming section which follows the folding sectionshown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of a training pant made by the processand apparatus shown in FIGS. 1-3, where the fastening system is shownengaged on one side of the training pant and disengaged on the otherside of the training pant.

FIG. 5 illustrates a plan view of the training pant shown in FIG. 4 inan unfastened, stretched and laid flat condition, and showing thesurface of the training pant that faces away from the wearer.

FIG. 6 illustrates a plan view similar to FIG. 5, but showing thesurface of the training pant that faces the wearer when the trainingpant is worn, and with portions cut away to show the underlyingfeatures.

FIG. 7 illustrates a portion of a continuously moving assemblage at onepoint in the assembly section illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 illustrates an enlarged side view of the folding section shown inFIG. 2.

FIG. 9 illustrates a top view of a portion of the folding section shownin FIG. 2.

FIG. 10 illustrates an enlarged section view of a portion of a trainingpant at a position within the folding section shown in FIGS. 2, 8 and 9.

FIG. 11 illustrates an enlarged side view of a portion of the seamingsection shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 12 illustrates an enlarged section view of a portion of a trainingpant within the seaming section, at the position represented by line12—12 in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 illustrates an enlarged section view of a portion of a trainingpant within the seaming section, at the position represented by line13—13 in FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 illustrates an enlarged section view of a portion of a trainingpant within the seaming section, at the position represented by line14—14 in FIG. 11.

FIG. 15 illustrates another enlarged side view of a portion of theseaming section shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 16 illustrates an enlarged section view of a portion of a trainingpant within the seaming section, at the position represented by line16—16 in FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 illustrates an enlarged section view of a portion of a trainingpant within the seaming section, at the position represented by line17—17 in FIG. 15.

FIG. 18 illustrates an enlarged section view of a portion of a trainingpant within the seaming section, at the position represented by line18—18 in FIG. 15.

FIG. 19 illustrates an isometric view of a training pant being folded inthe seaming section, the view showing folding and tucking guides whichcan be employed in particular embodiments.

FIG. 20 schematically illustrates a top plan view of a side panel at asequence of positions on a side panel transfer device shown in FIGS. 3and 11—19.

FIGS. 21 through 24 illustrate another embodiment of the present methodand apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The methods and apparatus of the present invention can be used to make avariety of garments. Examples of such garments include disposableabsorbent articles such as diapers, training pants, feminine hygieneproducts, incontinence products, other personal care or health caregarments; swim pants; athletic clothing; pants and shorts; or the like.For ease of explanation, the description hereafter will be in terms ofmethods and apparatus for making a child's training pant. In particular,the methods and apparatus will be described in terms of those for makingprefastened disposable training pants as described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/444,083 titled “absorbent Articles WithRefastenable Side Seams” and filed Nov. 22, 1999 (corresponding to PCTapplication WO 00/37009 published Jun. 29, 2000) by A. L. Fletcher etal., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIGS. 1-3 representatively illustrate one embodiment of a method andapparatus for making a training pant 20. The training pant 20 isillustrated separately and in a partially fastened condition in FIG. 4.The training pant 20 comprises an absorbent chassis 32 and a fasteningsystem 80. The absorbent chassis 32 defines a front waist region 22, aback waist region 24, a crotch region 26 interconnecting the front andback waist regions, an inner surface 28 which is configured to contactthe wearer, and an outer surface 30 opposite the inner surface which isconfigured to contact the wearer's clothing. With additional referenceto FIGS. 5 and 6, the absorbent chassis 32 also defines a pair oftransversely opposed side edges 36 and a pair of longitudinally opposedwaist edges, which are designated front waist edge 38 and back waistedge 39. The front waist region 22 is contiguous with the front waistedge 38, and the back waist region 24 is contiguous with the back waistedge 39.

The illustrated absorbent chassis 32 comprises a composite structure 33which can be rectangular or any other desired shape, a pair oftransversely opposed front side panels 34, and a pair of transverselyopposed back side panels 134. The composite structure 33 and side panels34 and 134 may comprise two or more separate elements, as shown in FIG.4, or be integrally formed. Integrally formed side panels and compositestructure would comprise at least some common materials, such as thebodyside liner, flap composite, outer cover, other materials and/orcombinations thereof, and could define a one-piece elastic, stretchable,or nonstretchable pant. The illustrated composite structure 33 comprisesan outer cover 40, a bodyside liner 42 (FIGS. 4 and 6) which isconnected to the outer cover in a superposed relation, an absorbentassembly 44 (FIG. 6) which is located between the outer cover and thebodyside liner, and a pair of containment flaps 46 (FIG. 6). Theillustrated composite structure 33 has opposite linear end edges 45 thatform portions of the front and back waist edges 38 and 39, and oppositelinear side edges 47 that form portions of the side edges 36 of theabsorbent chassis 32 (FIGS. 5 and 6). For reference, arrows 48 and 49depicting the orientation of the longitudinal axis and the transverseaxis, respectively, of the training pant 20 are illustrated in FIGS. 5and 6.

With the training pant 20 in the fastened position as partiallyillustrated in FIG. 4, the front and back waist regions 22 and 24 arejoined together to define a three-dimensional pant configuration havinga waist opening 50 and a pair of leg openings 52.

The front waist region 22 comprises the portion of the training pant 20which, when worn, is positioned on the front of the wearer while theback waist region 24 comprises the portion of the training pant which,when worn, is positioned on the back of the wearer. The crotch region 26of the training pant 20 comprises the portion of the training pantwhich, when worn, is positioned between the legs of the wearer andcovers the lower torso of the wearer. The front and back side panels 34and 134 comprise the portions of the training pant 20 which, when worn,are positioned on the hips of the wearer.

The front waist region 22 of the absorbent chassis 32 includes thetransversely opposed front side panels 34 and a front center panel 35(FIGS. 5 and 6) positioned between and interconnecting the side panels.The back waist region 24 of the absorbent chassis 32 includes thetransversely opposed back side panels 134 and a back center panel 135(FIGS. 5 and 6) positioned between and interconnecting the side panels.The waist edges 38 and 39 of the absorbent chassis 32 are configured toencircle the waist of the wearer when worn and provide the waist opening50 which defines a waist perimeter dimension. Portions of thetransversely opposed side edges 36 in the crotch region 26 generallydefine the leg openings 52.

The absorbent chassis 32 is configured to contain and/or absorb any bodyexudates discharged from the wearer. For example, the absorbent chassis32 desirably although not necessarily comprises the pair of containmentflaps 46 which are configured to provide a barrier to the transverseflow of body exudates. A flap elastic member 53 (FIG. 6) can beoperatively joined with each containment flap 46 in any suitable manneras is well known in the art. The elasticized containment flaps 46 definean unattached edge which assumes an upright configuration in at leastthe crotch region 26 of the training pant 20 to form a seal against thewearer's body. The containment flaps 46 can be located along thetransversely opposed side edges of the absorbent chassis 32, and canextend longitudinally along the entire length of the absorbent chassisor may only extend partially along the length of the absorbent chassis.Suitable constructions and arrangements for the containment flaps 46 aregenerally well known to those skilled in the art and are described inU.S. Pat. No. 4,704,116 issued Nov. 3, 1987 to Enloe, which isincorporated herein by reference.

To further enhance containment and/or absorption of body exudates, thetraining pant 20 desirably although not necessarily includes a frontwaist elastic member 54, a rear waist elastic member 56, and leg elasticmembers 58, as are known to those skilled in the art (FIG. 6). The waistelastic members 54 and 56 can be operatively joined to the outer cover40 and/or bodyside liner 42 along the opposite waist edges 38 and 39,and can extend over part or all of the waist edges. The leg elasticmembers 58 can be operatively joined to the outer cover 40 and/orbodyside liner 42 along the opposite side edges 36 and positioned in thecrotch region 26 of the training pant 20. The leg elastic members 58 aredesirably longitudinally aligned along each side edge 47 of thecomposite structure 33. Each leg elastic member 58 has a front terminalpoint 63 and a back terminal point 65, which points represent thelongitudinal ends of the elastic gathering caused by the leg elasticmembers. The front terminal points 63 can be located adjacent thelongitudinally innermost parts of the front side panels 34, and the backterminal points 65 can be located adjacent the longitudinally innermostparts of the back side panels 134.

The flap elastic members 53, the waist elastic members 54 and 56, andthe leg elastic members 58 can be formed of any suitable elasticmaterial. As is well known to those skilled in the art, suitable elasticmaterials include sheets, strands or ribbons of natural rubber,synthetic rubber, or thermoplastic elastomeric polymers. The elasticmaterials can be stretched and adhered to a substrate, adhered to agathered substrate, or adhered to a substrate and then elasticized orshrunk, for example with the application of heat; such that elasticconstrictive forces are imparted to the substrate. In one particularembodiment, for example, the leg elastic members 58 comprise a pluralityof dry-spun coalesced multifilament spandex elastomeric threads soldunder the trade name LYCRA® and available from E. I. Du Pont de Nemoursand Company, Wilmington, Del. U.S.A.

The outer cover 40 desirably comprises a material that is substantiallyliquid impermeable, and can be elastic, stretchable or nonstretchable.The outer cover 40 can be a single layer of liquid impermeable material,but desirably comprises a multi-layered laminate structure in which atleast one of the layers is liquid impermeable. For instance, the outercover 40 can include a liquid permeable outer layer and a liquidimpermeable inner layer that are suitably joined together by a laminateadhesive, ultrasonic bonds, thermal bonds, or the like. Suitablelaminate adhesives, which can be applied continuously or intermittentlyas beads, a spray, parallel swirls, or the like, can be obtained fromFindley Adhesives, Inc., of Wauwatosa, Wis. U.S.A., or from NationalStarch and Chemical Company, Bridgewater, N.J. U.S.A. The liquidpermeable outer layer can be any suitable material and desirably onethat provides a generally cloth-like texture. One example of such amaterial is a 20 gsm (grams per square meter) spunbond polypropylenenonwoven web. The outer layer may also be made of those materials ofwhich liquid permeable bodyside liner 42 is made. While it is not anecessity for outer layer to be liquid permeable, it is desired that itprovides a relatively cloth-like texture to the wearer.

The inner layer of the outer cover 40 can be both liquid and vaporimpermeable, or can be liquid impermeable and vapor permeable. The innerlayer can be manufactured from a thin plastic film, although otherflexible liquid impermeable materials may also be used. The inner layer,or the liquid impermeable outer cover 40 when a single layer, preventswaste material from wetting articles, such as bedsheets and clothing, aswell as the wearer and caregiver. A suitable liquid impermeable film foruse as a liquid impermeable inner layer, or a single layer liquidimpermeable outer cover 40, is a 0.02 millimeter polyethylene filmcommercially available from Huntsman Packaging of Newport News, Va.U.S.A. If the outer cover 40 is a single layer of material, it can beembossed and/or matte finished to provide a more cloth-like appearance.As earlier mentioned, the liquid impermeable material can permit vaporsto escape from the interior of the disposable absorbent article, whilestill preventing liquids from passing through the outer cover 40. Asuitable “breathable” material is composed of a microporous polymer filmor a nonwoven fabric that has been coated or otherwise treated to imparta desired level of liquid impermeability. A suitable microporous film isa PMP-1 film material commercially available from Mitsui ToatsuChemicals, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, or an XKO-8044 polyolefin filmcommercially available from 3M Company, Minneapolis, Minn. U.S.A.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the training pant 20 and in particular theouter cover 40 desirably comprises one or more appearance-relatedcomponents. Examples of appearance-related components include, but arenot limited to, graphics; highlighting or emphasizing leg and waistopenings in order to make product shaping more evident or visible to theuser; highlighting or emphasizing areas of the product to simulatefunctional components such as elastic leg bands, elastic waistbands,simulated “fly openings” for boys, ruffles for girls; highlighting areasof the product to change the appearance of the size of the product;registering wetness indicators, temperature indicators, and the like inthe product; registering a back label, or a front label, in the product;and registering written instructions at a desired location in theproduct.

The illustrated training pant 20, which is designed for use by younggirls, includes a registered outer cover graphic 60. In this design, theregistered graphic 60 includes a primary pictorial image 61, simulatedwaist ruffles 62, and simulated leg ruffles 64. The primary pictorialimage 61 includes a rainbow, sun, clouds, animal characters, wagon andballoons. Any suitable design can be utilized for a training pantintended for use by young girls, so as to be aesthetically and/orfunctionally pleasing to them and the caregiver. The appearance-relatedcomponents are desirably positioned on the training pant 20 at selectedlocations, which can be carried out using the methods disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 5,766,389 issued Jun. 16, 1998 to Brandon et al., which isincorporated herein by reference. The primary pictorial image 61 isdesirably positioned in the front waist region 22 along the longitudinalcenter line of the training pant 20.

The liquid permeable bodyside liner 42 is illustrated as overlying theouter cover 40 and absorbent assembly 44, and may but need not have thesame dimensions as the outer cover 40. The bodyside liner 42 isdesirably compliant, soft feeling, and non-irritating to the child'sskin. Further, the bodyside liner 42 can be less hydrophilic than theabsorbent assembly 44, to present a relatively dry surface to the wearerand permit liquid to readily penetrate through its thickness.Alternatively, the bodyside liner 42 can be more hydrophilic or can haveessentially the same affinity for moisture as the absorbent assembly 44to present a relatively wet surface to the wearer to increase thesensation of being wet. This wet sensation can be useful as a trainingaid. The hydrophilic/hydrophobic properties can be varied across thelength, width and depth of the bodyside liner 42 and absorbent assembly44 to achieve the desired wetness sensation or leakage performance.

The bodyside liner 42 can be manufactured from a wide selection of webmaterials, such as synthetic fibers (for example, polyester orpolypropylene fibers), natural fibers (for example, wood or cottonfibers), a combination of natural and synthetic fibers, porous foams,reticulated foams, apertured plastic films, or the like. Various wovenand nonwoven fabrics can be used for the bodyside liner 42. For example,the bodyside liner can be composed of a meltblown or spunbonded web ofpolyolefin fibers. The bodyside liner can also be a bonded-carded webcomposed of natural and/or synthetic fibers. The bodyside liner can becomposed of a substantially hydrophobic material, and the hydrophobicmaterial can, optionally, be treated with a surfactant or otherwiseprocessed to impart a desired level of wettability and hydrophilicity.For example, the material can be surface treated with about 0.45 weightpercent of a surfactant mixture comprising Ahcovel N-62 from HodgsonTextile Chemicals of Mount Holly, N.C. U.S.A. and Glucopan 220UP fromHenkel Corporation of Ambler, Pa. in an active ratio of 3:1. Thesurfactant can be applied by any conventional means, such as spraying,printing, brush coating or the like. The surfactant can be applied tothe entire bodyside liner 42 or can be selectively applied to particularsections of the bodyside liner, such as the medial section along thelongitudinal center line.

A suitable liquid permeable bodyside liner 42 is a nonwoven bicomponentweb having a basis weight of about 27 gsm. The nonwoven bicomponent canbe a spunbond bicomponent web, or a bonded carded bicomponent web.Suitable bicomponent staple fibers include a polyethylene/polypropylenebicomponent fiber available from CHISSO Corporation, Osaka, Japan. Inthis particular bicomponent fiber, the polypropylene forms the core andthe polyethylene forms the sheath of the fiber. Other fiber orientationsare possible, such as multi-lobe, side-by-side, end-to-end, or the like.The outer cover 40, bodyside liner 42 and other materials used toconstruct the pant can comprise elastomeric materials or nonelastomericmaterials.

The absorbent assembly 44 (FIG. 6) is positioned between the outer cover40 and the bodyside liner 42, which components can be joined together byany suitable means such as adhesives, ultrasonic bonds, thermal bonds,or the like. The absorbent assembly 44 can be any structure which isgenerally compressible, conformable, non-irritating to the child's skin,and capable of absorbing and retaining liquids and certain body wastes.The absorbent assembly 44 can be manufactured in a wide variety of sizesand shapes, and from a wide variety of liquid absorbent materialscommonly used in the art. For example, the absorbent assembly 44 cansuitably comprise a matrix of hydrophilic fibers, such as a web ofcellulosic fluff, mixed with particles of a high-absorbency materialcommonly known as superabsorbent material. In a particular embodiment,the absorbent assembly 44 comprises a matrix of cellulosic fluff, suchas wood pulp fluff, and superabsorbent hydrogel-forming particles. Thewood pulp fluff can be exchanged with synthetic, polymeric, meltblownfibers or short cut homofil bicomponent synthetic fibers and naturalfibers. The superabsorbent particles can be substantially homogeneouslymixed with the hydrophilic fibers or can be nonuniformly mixed. Thefluff and superabsorbent particles can also be selectively placed intodesired zones of the absorbent assembly 44 to better contain and absorbbody exudates. The concentration of the superabsorbent particles canalso vary through the thickness of the absorbent assembly 44.Alternatively, the absorbent assembly 44 can comprise a laminate offibrous webs and superabsorbent material or other suitable means ofmaintaining a superabsorbent material in a localized area.

Suitable superabsorbent materials can be selected from natural,synthetic, and modified natural polymers and materials. Thesuperabsorbent materials can be inorganic materials, such as silicagels, or organic compounds, such as crosslinked polymers, for example,sodium neutralized polyacrylic acid. Suitable superabsorbent materialsare available from various commercial vendors, such as Dow ChemicalCompany located in Midland, Mich. U.S.A., and Stockhausen GmbH & Co. KG,D-47805 Krefeld, Federal Republic of Germany. Typically, asuperabsorbent material is capable of absorbing at least about 15 timesits weight in water, and desirably is capable of absorbing more thanabout 25 times its weight in water.

In one embodiment, the absorbent assembly 44 which can be rectangular orany other desired shape comprises a blend of wood pulp fluff andsuperabsorbent material. One preferred type of pulp is identified withthe trade designation CR1654, available from U.S. Alliance,Childersburg, Ala. U.S.A., and is a bleached, highly absorbent sulfatewood pulp containing primarily soft wood fibers and about 16 percenthardwood fibers. As a general rule, the superabsorbent material ispresent in the absorbent assembly 44 in an amount of from 0 to about 90weight percent based on total weight of the absorbent assembly. Theabsorbent assembly 44 suitably has a density within the range of about0.10 to about 0.35 grams per cubic centimeter. The absorbent assembly 44may or may not be wrapped or encompassed by a suitable tissue wrap thatmay help maintain the integrity and/or shape of the absorbent assembly.

The absorbent chassis 32 can also incorporate other materials that aredesigned primarily to receive, temporarily store, and/or transportliquid along the mutually facing surface with absorbent assembly 44,thereby maximizing the absorbent capacity of the absorbent assembly. Onesuitable material is referred to as a surge layer (not shown) andcomprises a material having a basis weight of about 50 to about 120grams per square meter, and comprising a through-air-bonded-carded webof a homogenous blend of 60 percent 3 denier type T-256 bicomponentfiber comprising a polyester core/polyethylene sheath and 40 percent 6denier type T-295 polyester fiber, both commercially available from KosaCorporation of Salisbury, N.C. U.S.A.

As noted previously, the illustrated training pant 20 has front and backside panels 34 and 134 disposed on each side of the absorbent chassis32. These transversely opposed front side panels 34 and transverselyopposed back side panels 134 can be permanently bonded along attachmentlines 66 to the composite structure 33 of the absorbent chassis 32 inthe respective front and back waist regions 22 and 24. Moreparticularly, as shown best in FIGS. 5 and 6, the front side panels 34can be permanently bonded to and extend transversely beyond the linearside edges 47 of the composite structure 33 in the front waist region22, and the back side panels 134 can be permanently bonded to and extendtransversely beyond the linear side edges of the composite structure inthe back waist region 24. The side panels 34 and 134 may be attachedusing attachment means known to those skilled in the art such asadhesive, thermal or ultrasonic bonding. Alternatively, the side panels34 and 134 can be formed as an integral portion of a component of thecomposite structure 33. For example, the side panels can comprise agenerally wider portion of the outer cover 40, the bodyside liner 42,and/or another component of the absorbent chassis. The front and backside panels 34 and 134 can be permanently bonded together or bereleasably attached to one another as illustrated by the fasteningsystem 80.

The illustrated side panels 34 and 134 each define a distal edge 68 thatis spaced from the attachment line 66, a leg end edge 70 disposed towardthe longitudinal center of the training pant 20, and a waist end edge 72disposed toward a longitudinal end of the training pant. The leg endedge 70 and waist end edge 72 extend from the side edges 47 of thecomposite structure 33 to the distal edges 68. The leg end edges 70 ofthe side panels 34 and 134 form part of the side edges 36 of theabsorbent chassis 32. In the back waist region 24, the leg end edges 70are desirably although not necessarily curved and/or angled relative tothe transverse axis 49 to provide greater coverage toward the back ofthe pant as compared to the front of the pant. The waist end edges 72are desirably parallel to the transverse axis 49. The waist end edges 72of the front side panels 34 form part of the front waist edge 38 of theabsorbent chassis 32, and the waist end edges 72 of the back side panels134 form part of the back waist edge 39 of the absorbent chassis.

In particular embodiments for improved fit and appearance, the sidepanels 34 and 134 desirably have an average length dimension measuredparallel to the longitudinal axis 48 that is about 20 percent orgreater, and particularly about 25 percent or greater, of the overalllength dimension of the absorbent article, also measured parallel to thelongitudinal axis 48. For example, in training pants having an overalllength dimension of about 54 centimeters, the side panels 34 and 134desirably have an average length dimension of about 10 centimeters orgreater, such as about 15 centimeters. While each of the side panels 34and 134 extend from the waist opening 50 to one of the leg openings 52,the illustrated back side panels 134 have a continually decreasinglength dimension moving from the attachment line 66 to the distal edge68, as is best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

Each of the side panels 34 and 134 can include one or more individual,distinct pieces of material. In particular embodiments, for example,each side panel 34 and 134 can include first and second side panelportions that are joined at a seam, or can include a single piece ofmaterial which is folded over upon itself (not shown).

The side panels 34 and 134 desirably although not necessarily comprisean elastic material capable of stretching in a direction generallyparallel to the transverse axis 49 of the training pant 20. Suitableelastic materials, as well as one process of incorporating elastic sidepanels into a training pant, are described in the following U.S.Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,464 issued Jul. 10, 1990 to Van Gompel etal.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,405 issued Jul. 6, 1993 to Pohjola; U.S. Pat.No. 5,104,116 issued Apr. 14, 1992 to Pohjola; and U.S. Pat. No.5,046,272 issued Sep. 10, 1991 to Vogt et al.; all of which areincorporated herein by reference. In particular embodiments, the elasticmaterial comprises a stretch-thermal laminate (STL), a neck-bondedlaminate (NBL), a reversibly necked laminate, or a stretch-bondedlaminate (SBL) material. Methods of making such materials are well knownto those skilled in the art and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,663,220issued May 5, 1987 to Wisneski et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,992 issuedJul. 13, 1993 to Morman; and European Patent Application No. EP 0 217032 published on Apr. 8, 1987 in the names of Taylor et al.; all ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, the sidepanel material may comprise other woven or nonwoven materials, such asthose described above as being suitable for the outer cover 40 orbodyside liner 42; mechanically pre-strained composites; or stretchablebut inelastic materials.

The illustrated training pant 20 includes a fastening system 80 forrefastenably securing the training pant about the waist of the wearer.The illustrated fastening system 80 includes first fastening components82 and 83 that are adapted to refastenably connect to mating secondfastening components 84 and 85. In one embodiment, one surface of eachof the first fastening components 82 and 83 comprises a plurality ofengaging elements that project from that surface. The engaging elementsof the first fastening components 82 and 83 are adapted to repeatedlyengage and disengage engaging elements of the second fasteningcomponents 84 and 85.

In one particular embodiment, the first fastening components 82 and 83each comprise hook type fasteners and the second fastening components 84and 85 each comprise complementary loop type fasteners. In anotherparticular embodiment, the first fastening components 82 and 83 eachcomprise loop type fasteners and the second fastening components 84 and85 each comprise complementary hook type fasteners. Alternatively, thefastening components can comprise interlocking similar surfacefasteners; adhesive or cohesive fastening elements such as an adhesivefastener and an adhesive-receptive landing zone or material; or thelike. Although the illustrated embodiments show the back waist region 24overlapping the front waist region 22, which is convenient, the trainingpant 20 can also be configured so that the front waist region overlapsthe back waist region.

Loop type fasteners typically comprise a fabric or material having abase or backing structure and a plurality of loop members extendingupwardly from at least one surface of the backing structure. The loopmaterial can be formed of any suitable material, such as acrylic, nylon,polypropylene or polyester, and can be formed by methods such as warpknitting, stitch bonding or needle punching. Loop type materials canalso comprise any fibrous structure capable of entangling or catchinghook type materials, such as carded, spunbonded or other nonwoven websor composites, including elastomeric and nonelastomeric composites.Suitable loop materials are available from Guilford Mills, Inc.,Greensboro, N.C. U.S.A. under the trade designation No. 36549. Anothersuitable loop material can comprise a pattern un-bonded web as disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,515 issued Jan. 12, 1999 to Stokes et al.

Hook type fasteners typically comprise a fabric or material having abase or backing structure and a plurality of hook members extendingupwardly from at least one surface of the backing structure. In contrastto the loop type fasteners which desirably comprise a flexible fabric,the hook material advantageously comprises a resilient material tominimize unintentional disengagement of the fastener components as aresult of the hook material becoming deformed and catching on clothingor other items. The term “resilient” as used herein refers to aninterlocking material having a predetermined shape and the property ofthe interlocking material to resume the predetermined shape after beingengaged and disengaged from a mating, complementary interlockingmaterial. Suitable hook material can be molded or extruded of nylon,polypropylene or another suitable material. Suitable single-sided hookmaterials for the fastening components 82-85 are available fromcommercial vendors such as Velcro Industries B.V., Amsterdam,Netherlands or affiliates thereof, and are identified as Velcro HTH-829with a uni-directional hook pattern and having a thickness of about 0.9millimeters (35 mils) and HTH-851 with a uni-directional hook patternand having a thickness of about 0.5 millimeters (20 mils); and MinnesotaMining & Manufacturing Co., St. Paul, Minn. U.S.A., including specificmaterials identified as CS-600.

With particular reference to FIG. 6, the first fastening components 82and 83 are desirably although not necessarily disposed on the innersurface 28 of the training pant 20 in the back waist region 24. Thefirst fastening components 82 and 83 are desirably positioned along thedistal edges 68 of the back side panels 134, and abutting or adjacent tothe waist end edge 72. In certain embodiments, for example, the firstfastening components 82 and 83 can be located within about 2centimeters, and more particularly within about 1 centimeter, of thedistal edges 68, the waist end edges 72, and the leg end edges 70.

With particular reference to FIG. 5, the second fastening components 84and 85 are desirably although not necessarily disposed on the outersurface 30 of the training pant 20 in the front waist region 22. Thesecond fastening components 84 and 85 are sized to receive the firstfastening components 82 and 83 and can be desirably positioned along thedistal edges 68 of the front side panels 34, and abutting or adjacent tothe waist end edge 72. In certain embodiments, for example, the secondfastening components 84 and 85 are located within about 2 centimeters,and more particularly within about 1 centimeter, of the distal edges 68,the waist end edges 72, and the leg end edges 70. Where the firstfastening components 82 and 83 comprise loop type fasteners disposed onthe inner surface 28 and the second fastening components 84 and 85comprise hook type fasteners disposed on the outer surface 30, the firstfastening components can be sized larger than the second fasteningcomponents to ensure coverage of the rigid, outwardly-directed hooks.

The fastening components 82-85 can be adhered to the side panels 34 and134 by any means known to those skilled in the art such as adhesivebonds, ultrasonic bonds or thermal bonds. The fastening components cancomprise separate fastening elements or can comprise distinct regions ofan integral material. For example, the training pant 20 can include anintegral second fastening material disposed in the front waist region 22for refastenably connecting to the first fastening components 82 and 83at two or more different regions, which define the second fasteningcomponents 84 and 85 (FIG. 3). In a particular embodiment, the fasteningcomponents can comprise integral portions of the waist regions. Forinstance, one of the elastomeric front or back side panels can functionas second fastening components in that they can comprise a material thatis releasably engageable with fastening components disposed in theopposite waist region.

The fastening components are desirably rectangular, although they mayalternatively be square, round, oval, curved or otherwisenon-rectangularly shaped. In particular embodiments, each of thefastening components 82-85 defines a length dimension aligned generallyparallel with the longitudinal axis 48 of the training pant 20 and awidth dimension aligned generally parallel with the transverse axis 49of the training pant. For a child of about 9 to about 15 kilograms(20-30 pounds), for example, the length dimension of the fasteningcomponents is desirably from about 5 to about 13 centimeters, such asabout 10 centimeters, and the width dimension is desirably from about0.5 to about 3 centimeters, such as about 1 centimeter. With particularembodiments, the fastening components can have a length-to-width ratioof about 2 or greater, such as about 2 to about 25, and particularlyabout 5 or greater, such as about 5 to about 8. For other embodimentssuch as for adult products, it may be desirable for one or more of thefastening components to comprise a plurality of relatively smallerfastening elements. In that case, a fastening component or individualfastening elements may have an even smaller length-to-width ratio, forexample, of about 2 or less, and even about 1 or less.

When the fastening components 82-85 are releasably engaged, the sideedges 36 of the absorbent chassis 32 in the crotch region 26 define theleg openings 52, and the waist edges 38 and 39 of the absorbent chassis,including the waist end edges 72 of the side panels, define the waistopening 50. For improved formation of the leg openings 52, it can bedesirable in some embodiments for the front side panels 34 to belongitudinally spaced from the back side panels 134 (see FIGS. 5 and 6).For example, the front side panels 34 can be longitudinally spaced fromthe back side panels 134 by a distance equal to about 20 percent orgreater, particularly from about 20 to about 60 percent, and moreparticularly from about 35 to about 50 percent, of the overall lengthdimension of the absorbent article.

When connected, the fastening components 82-85 form refastenable seams88 (FIG. 4) that desirably although not necessarily extend substantiallythe entire distance between the waist opening 50 and the leg openings52. More specifically, the refastenable seams 88 can cover about 80 to100 percent, and particularly about 90 to about 98 percent, of thedistance between the waist opening 50 and each leg opening 52, whichdistance is measured parallel to the longitudinal axis 48. To constructthe seams 88 to extend substantially the entire distance between thewaist and leg openings 50 and 52, the fastening components 82-85 can beformed to cover about 80 to 100 percent, and more particularly about 90to about 98 percent, of the distance between the waist end edge 70 andthe leg end edge 72 of the side panels 34 and 134. In other embodiments,the fastening components can comprise a plurality of smaller fasteningelements covering a smaller portion of the distance between the waistopening 50 and the leg openings 52, for example, about 20 to about 70percent, but spaced apart to span a larger percentage of the distancebetween the waist opening and the leg openings.

For the refastenable seams 88 to be located at the sides of the wearer,it can be particularly desirable for the transverse distance between thefirst fastening components 82 and 83 to be substantially equal to thetransverse distance between the second fastening components 84 and 85.The transverse distance between a set of fasteners is measured parallelto the transverse axis 49 between the longitudinal center lines of thefasteners.

An exemplary embodiment of an assembly section 100 for making acontinuous stream of partially assembled, discrete garments 102 isillustrated in FIG. 1. The specific equipment and processes used in theassembly section 100 can vary greatly depending on the specific type ofgarment being manufactured. The particular process and apparatusdescribed in relation to FIG. 1 is specifically adapted to manufacturetraining pants 20 of the type illustrated in FIG. 4.

The various components of the training pant can be connected together byany means known to those skilled in the art such as, for example,adhesive, thermal and/or ultrasonic bonds. Desirably, most of thecomponents are connected using ultrasonic bonding for improvedmanufacturing efficiency and reduced raw material costs. Certain garmentmanufacturing equipment which is readily known and understood in theart, including frames and mounting structures, ultrasonic and adhesivebonding devices, transport conveyors, transfer rolls, guide rolls,tension rolls, and the like, have not been shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.Suitable absorbent supply mechanisms, web unwinds, conveyor systems,registration systems, drives systems, control systems and the like, foruse with the present process are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,389issued Jun. 16, 1998 to Brandon et al., which is incorporated herein byreference. Also, the outer cover graphics 61 are not shown in FIGS. 1, 2and 7.

A continuous supply of material 104 used to form the bodyside liner 42is provided from a supply source 106. The supply source 106 can comprisefor example any standard unwind mechanism, which generally includes apair of spindles, a festoon assembly, and a dancer roll for providingbodyside liner material 104 at a desired speed and tension.

Various components can be disposed on and/or bonded to the bodysideliner material 104 as the material travels in a machine directionidentified by arrow 108. In particular, a surge layer can be provided atan application station 110 and disposed on and/or bonded to the bodysideliner material 104. The surge layer can comprise either a continuous webor discrete sheets. Additionally, a containment flap module 112 can beprovided downstream of the supply source 106 for attaching pre-assembledcontainment flaps to the bodyside liner material 104. As variouscomponents are added in the assembly section 100, a continuously movingproduct assemblage 113 is formed. The product assemblage 113 will be cutdownstream to form the partially assembled, discrete training pants 102.

A plurality of absorbent assemblies 114 can be provided from a suitablesupply source 115. The supply source 115 can be any conventionalmechanism for supplying the absorbent assemblies 114. Generally, aconventional supply source can include a hammermill for forming flufffibers and, if desired, for providing an enclosure for mixingsuperabsorbent material with the fluff fibers, and then depositing thefluff and superabsorbent material on a forming drum having a desiredabsorbent design. The individual absorbent assemblies 114 can bedisposed intermittently on the continuously moving bodyside linermaterial 104, one for each training pant. The position of the absorbentassemblies 114 can be registered with the position of the surgematerial, if employed. The absorbent assemblies 114 can be bonded to oneor more other components using adhesives or other suitable means.Alternatively, composite absorbent materials can be fed into theconverting process from rolls or compressed packages, such as festoonedbales.

Continuous webs of material 116 used to form the side panels 34 and 134can be provided from suitable supply sources 117. The supply sources 117can comprise one or more standard unwind mechanisms. The side panelmaterial 116 can be cut into individual strips 118 and positionedpartially on the bodyside liner material 104 using an applicator device120. In the cross machine direction, the individual strips 118 desirablyextend laterally outward from the bodyside liner material 104 (see FIGS.1 and 7) and overlap the bodyside liner material by an amount such asabout 2 or more centimeters to permit bonding of the strips to thebodyside liner and/or the containment flap material. In themachine-direction 108, the position of the strips 118 can be registeredrelative to the absorbent assemblies 114 so that the product assemblage113 can be cut between the absorbent assemblies with each strip 118 ofside panel material 116 forming both a front side panel 34 and a backside panel 134 of consecutive garments 102.

One suitable applicator device 120 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,104,116 issued Apr. 14, 1992 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,405 issued Jul.6, 1993 both to Pohjola, which are incorporated herein by reference. Theapplicator device 120 can comprise a cutting assembly 122 and arotatable transfer roll 124. The cutting assembly 122 employs arotatable knife roll 126 and a rotatable vacuum anvil roll 128 to cutindividual strips 118 from the continuous side panel material 116. Thestrips 118 cut by a blade on the knife roll 126 can be maintained on theanvil roll 128 by vacuum and transferred to the transfer roll 124.

The rotatable transfer roll 124 can comprise a plurality of rotatablevacuum pucks 130. The vacuum pucks 130 receive the strips 118 ofmaterial 116 from the cutting assembly 122 and rotate and transfer thestrips to the continuously moving bodyside liner material 104. When thestrips 118 are positioned as desired relative to the bodyside linermaterial 104, the strips are released from the pucks 130 byextinguishing the vacuum in the pucks. The pucks 130 can continue torotate toward the cutting assembly 122 to receive other strips.

As disclosed by Van Gompel et al., the material 116 used to form theside panels can alternatively be provided in continuous form andpressurized fluid-jets or a rotary die cutter can be employed to cut thematerial to form leg openings 52. Still alternatively, the side panels34 and 134 of the training pant 20 can be provided by portions of thebodyside liner 42 and/or outer cover 40.

A continuous supply of material 140 used to form the outer cover 40 canbe provided from a supply roll 142 or other suitable source. The outercover material 140 can be transported over a laminator roll 144 andmarried with the bodyside liner material 104. The absorbent assemblies114 are thereby sandwiched between the continuous materials 104 and 140.The inward portions of the strips 118 of side panel material 116 canalso be disposed between the bodyside liner material 104 and the outercover material 140. Alternative configurations for attaching the sidepanel material 116 are disclosed by Van Gompel et al. Various componentssuch as leg elastics 58 or waist elastics 54 and 56 can be bonded to theouter cover material 140 at an application station 146 prior to unitingthe bodyside liner and outer cover materials 104 and 140. Alternatively,leg elastics or waist elastics can be initially bonded to the bodysideliner material 104 or another material.

Bonding devices 148 such as ultrasonic bonders can be employeddownstream of the laminator roll 144 to bond the bodyside liner material104, side panel material 116 and outer cover material 140. For example,these materials can be transported between a rotary ultrasonic horn andan anvil roll. Suitable rotary ultrasonic horns are described in U.S.Pat. No. 5,110,403 to Ehlert, which is incorporated herein by reference.Such rotary ultrasonic horns generally have a diameter of from about 5to about 20 centimeters and a width of from about 2 to about 15centimeters. Alternatively, the ultrasonic horn may be a stationaryultrasonic horn as are also known to those skilled in the art. Othersuitable ultrasonic horns and ultrasonic bonders are commerciallyavailable from Branson Sonic Power Company, Danbury, Conn. U.S.A. Thebonding devices 148 could otherwise be a thermal or adhesive bonder asare well known.

The continuously moving product assemblage 113 next advances to afastener application station 150 where fastening components 82-85 arebonded to the strips 118 of side panel material 116. The location of thefastening components on the composite is a function in part of theconfiguration of the assembly section 100. The illustrated assemblysection 100 is configured so that the upwardly facing surface of theproduct assemblage 113 will become the outer surface 30 of the trainingpant 20 and the downwardly facing surface will become the inner surface28. Moreover, the illustrated assembly section 100 is configured toproduce partially assembled training pants 102 having the front waistregion 22 of a leading garment connected to the back waist region 24 ofa trailing garment. The process could alternatively employ anycombination of different orientations. For example, the upwardly facingsurface of the product assemblage could form the inner surface 28 offinished garments. Additionally or alternatively, the back waist region24 of a leading garment can be connected to the front waist region 22 ofthe trailing garment, or the garments can be arranged in afront-to-front/back-to-back relationship. Still alternatively, theassembly section 100 could be constructed as a cross-machine directionprocess wherein the longitudinal axis 48 of each garment could beperpendicular to the machine direction 108 during part or all of theassembly process.

The location of the fastening components 82-85 in this embodiment isbest illustrated in FIG. 7, which shows a portion of the productassemblage 113 which is moving in the direction of arrow 108 immediatelyfollowing the fastener application station 150. Each individual strip118 of side panel material 116 defines a leading edge 152, a trailingedge 154, a distal edge 156 and an interior edge 158. A dashed line 159illustrates the location at which the product assemblage 113 cansubsequently be cut to provide the discrete training pants 102. Based onthe illustrated orientation of the continuously moving productassemblage 113, the first fastening components 82 and 83 can be bondedto the underside of the strips 118 and the second fastening components84 and 85 can be bonded to the top of the strips. Additionally, thefirst fastening components 82 and 83 can be disposed relatively closerto the trailing edge 154 and the second fastening components 84 and 85can be disposed relatively closer to the leading edge 152. The firstfastening components 82 and 83 can be spaced in the machine direction108 from the second fastening components 84 and 85 so that the cut line159 passes therebetween.

With reference again to FIG. 1, continuous webs of second fastenermaterial 160 used to form the second fastening components 84 and 85 canbe provided from supply rolls 162 or other suitable sources. The secondfastener materials 160 can be cut into individual second fasteners 84and 85 by cutting assemblies 164 or other suitable devices. Theillustrated cutting assemblies 164 include rotatable knife rolls 166,rotatable vacuum anvil rolls 167, and rotatable backing rolls 168. Thecontinuous second fastener materials 160 can be cut by blades on theknife rolls 166, maintained on the anvil rolls 167 by vacuum, anddisposed on the top surfaces of the strips 118 of side panel material116.

Similarly, continuous webs of first fastener material 170 used to formthe first fastening components 82 and 83 can be provided from supplyrolls 172 or other suitable sources. The first fastener materials 170can be cut into individual first fasteners 82 and 83 by cuttingassemblies 174 or other suitable devices. The illustrated cuttingassemblies 174 include rotatable knife rolls 176, rotatable vacuum anvilrolls 177, and rotatable backing rolls 178. The continuous firstfastener materials 170 can be cut by blades on the knife rolls 176,maintained on the anvil rolls 177 by vacuum, and disposed on theundersides of the strips 118 of side panel material 116.

Other arrangements can be used to attach the fastening components 82-85.For example, the fastening components can be applied to the side panelmaterial 116 prior to uniting the side panel material with the bodysideliner material 104 and/or the outer cover material 140; the fasteningcomponents can be applied to the bodyside liner material 104 and/orouter cover material 140, whether separate side panels are used or not;portions of other components such as the bodyside liner and/or outercover can form one or more of the fastening components; the separateside panels or integral side panels can themselves form one or more ofthe fastening components; the fastening components can be attached aspre-engaged composites 82, 84 and 83, 85; or the like.

After the fastening components are disposed on the strips 118 of sidepanel material 116, bonding devices 180 such as ultrasonic bonders canbe employed to bond the fastening components to the strips. For example,the strips 118 can be transported between a rotary ultrasonic horn andan anvil roll, which devices are positioned on each side of the processat the cross machine direction location, that is the transverselocation, of the fastening components 82, 84 and 83, 85. Particularultrasonic bond patterns comprising individual, circular bonds which arecompatible with mechanical fastening materials are disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 5,660,666 issued Aug. 26, 1997 to Dilnik et al., which isincorporated herein by reference. Efficient arrangements for attachingthe fastening components with nonadhesive bonding devices are furtherdescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. unknown, filed on May 15,2001 by J. D. Coenen et al. and titled “Methods For Making Garments WithFastening Components,” which is incorporated herein by reference. Forsecure attachment, it may be desirable to attach the fasteningcomponents with both adhesive and thermal bonds. Suitable attachmentadhesives are available from commercial vendors such as FindleyAdhesive, Inc., Wauwatosa, Wis. U.S.A.

In particular embodiments, the bonding devices 180 can provide timed,non-uniform bonding of the fastening components to the side panelmaterial 116. The degree of bonding, such as the number of bonds perunit area or the bond strength per unit area, can be greater in certaintarget areas compared to non-target areas. Enhanced bonding in targetareas can be beneficial particularly near the waist and leg openings 50and 52 to reduce delamination of the fastening components from the sidepanel material 116. Thus, the bonding devices 180 can be adapted tocreate relatively more bonds or stronger bonds between the fasteningcomponents 82-85 and the side panel material 116 when the side panelmaterial 116 reaches a particular machine direction 108 location. In oneparticular embodiment, the target areas correspond to portions of thefastening components 82-85 near the waist edges 38 and 39. The bondingdevices 180 can be registered to provide a relatively higher degree ofbonding which begins while disposed on one fastening component (such as84 in FIG. 7), continues through the region where the product assemblage113 will subsequently be cut (see cut line 159 in FIG. 7), and endsafter being disposed on another fastening component (such as 82).Alternatively, the bonding devices 180 can destroy engaging elements ofthe fastening components 82-85 in the target areas, so that thefastening components will be less able to aggressively attach to oneanother in the target areas.

The strips 118 of side panel material 116 can be trimmed if desired, forexample to provide angled and/or curved leg end edges 70 in the backwaist region 24 (FIGS. 5 and 6). To this end, the assembly section 100can include a die cutting roll 182 and a backing roll 184. In theillustrated embodiment, a portion of each strip 118 is trimmed from thetrailing edge 154 (FIG. 7) in order to form the angled and/or curved legend edges 70 in the back waist region 24.

The method and apparatus to this point provides a continuous web ofinterconnected and partially assembled training pants moving in thedirection indicated by arrow 108. This continuously moving productassemblage 113 is passed through a cutter 186 which selectively cuts theweb into discrete, partially assembled training pants 102. Such cutters186 are generally known to those skilled in the art and can include, forexample, the combination of a cutting roll 187 and an anvil roll 188through which the web travels (FIG. 2). The anvil roll 188 can include ahardened steel rotating roll while the cutting roll 187 can include oneor more flexible hardened steel blades clamped onto another rotatingroll. The pinching force between the blade on the cutting roll 187 andthe anvil roll 188 creates the cut. The cutting roll 187 can have one ormore blades depending upon the desired distance between the cuts. Thecutter 186 can further be configured to provide a spacing between theindividual cut pieces after they are cut. Such a spacing can be providedby transferring the cut pieces away from the cutter at a higher speedthan the speed at which the web is provided to the cutter.

The discrete training pants 102 can then be folded at a folding station200 using any suitable folding mechanism 202 (FIG. 2). The trainingpants 102 can be folded about a fold line generally bisecting thetraining pants. As such, the waist regions 22 and 24 of each trainingpant 102 are positioned in facing relationship with the side panels 34and 134 extending laterally outward relative to the longitudinal axis 48of the training pant. The fold line extends in a lateral directionthrough the crotch region 26 of the training pant. Desirably, eachdiscrete training pant 102 is consistently folded about the fold linesuch that the front and back waist edges 38 and 39 of the training pantalign with each other.

A variety of folding mechanisms 202 can be used, such as blade folders,linear folders, book folders, tucker blades, or the like. The specifictype selected for a given application may depend upon the type ofgarment being manufactured and the type of fastening mechanism used tosecure the garment in a pant configuration. An embodiment of a bladefolding mechanism 202 adapted for use with garments incorporatingrefastenable fastening components 82-85 is illustrated in FIGS. 2, 8 and9. The illustrated folding mechanism 202 controls the side panels 34 and134 during folding so that the refastenable fastening components 82-85are unlikely to engage one another or engage another material during thefolding operation. Other arrangements for maintaining separation of theside panels and fastening components during folding are disclosed inU.S. patent application Ser. No. unknown, filed on May 15, 2001 by J. D.Coenen et al. and titled “Folding And Manufacture Of Pants,” which isincorporated herein by reference.

The illustrated blade folding mechanism 202 comprises a plurality ofrotating folding or tucker blades which are configured to contact thetraining pant 102 along the fold line. Rotation of the folding bladescan force the training pant 102 into a nip 204 between two rotatingfolding conveyors 206 and 208 causing the training pants to fold aboutthe fold line. The folding conveyors 206 and 208 can form part of atransport system for moving the folded training pants 102 in the machinedirection 108. The folded training pants 102 are illustrated as beingtransported in the machine direction 108 with the crotch region 26leading the waist regions 22 and 24. Alternatively, the process andapparatus could be modified so that the waist regions lead the crotchregion (not shown).

With reference to FIGS. 2, 8 and 9, the series of unfolded, discretetraining pants 102 can be transferred from the vacuum anvil roll 188 ofthe cutter 186 to the upper folding conveyor 206. The training pants 102can be held by vacuum on the upper folding conveyor 206 and transportedtoward the nip 204 formed between the folding conveyors 206 and 208.While being transported toward the nip 204, the side panels 34 and 134can be smoothed out or straightened if desired by various meansincluding fluid stabilizing devices. For example, air knives 215 (FIG.8), air bars, air nozzles or the like can be mounted in proximity to theupper folding conveyor to provide a stream of fluid directed toward theside panels to stabilize and/or straighten the side panels. The airknives 215 can blow the side panels 34 and 134 against skid plates 216positioned transversely outward from the upper folding conveyor belt212. Alternatively, or in addition thereto, the upper folding conveyor206 can incorporate fluid stabilizing devices consisting of fluidmanifolds operatively connected to a high pressure fluid source tofluidly shake the side panels. The fluid stabilizing devices desirablyprevent folding of the side panels 34 and 134 as the training pant 102moves along the upper folding conveyor 206. Sensing devices can also beemployed at this point to detect products that have folded side panelsor that are misaligned relative to the machine center line.

The product folding nip 204 can be formed between a timed vacuum noseroll 218 of the upper folding conveyor 206 and a timed vacuum nose roll219 of the lower folding conveyor 208 (FIGS. 2 and 8). As the leadingedge of a pant 102 is introduced onto the upper nose roll 218,compressed air can be introduced inside the nose roll to negate vacuumdraw of the nose roll. This allows the leading edge of the pant to passby the nose roll 218 without getting sucked into the nip 204.Alternatively of course, the vacuum source can be temporarilydisconnected (isolated) from the nose roll 218. Any suitable controlsystem can be used to repeatedly activate and deactivate vacuumoperation of the nose rolls 218 and 219. In particular embodiments,rotary valves can be employed to cycle vacuum to the nose rolls 218 and219.

A product control drum 220 can guide the leading half of the trainingpant 102 onto a transfer plate 222 (FIGS. 2 and 8), which may or may notbe curved. The product control drum 220 can comprise a plurality ofvacuum pucks 224 which rotate in the direction of arrow 225. Theillustrated product control drum 220 includes four vacuum pucks 224 toguide four training pants 102 per revolution. Rotation of the productcontrol drum 220 can be timed so that a vacuum puck 224 grabs theleading half of a training pant 102 and transfers the leading edge ontothe transfer plate 222. The absorbent chassis 32 and/or side panels 134of the leading half can be carried on a vacuum puck 224 past the noseroll 219 of the lower folding conveyor 208. Compressed air can beintroduced inside this lower nose roll 219 at this point to negatevacuum draw and permit the entire leading edge and side panels 134 totransfer onto the transfer plate 222. Alternatively of course, thevacuum source can be temporarily disconnected (isolated) from the noseroll 219.

With reference to FIG. 9, the folding mechanism 202 can comprise a pairof opposed tucker blades 240 that move in an orbital manner to passthrough the vertical path of the training pant 102. The tucker blades240 can contact the crotch region 26 of the pant 102 and insert thecrotch region into the folding nip 204. As this happens, the leadinghalf of the pant 102 reverses direction over the transfer plate 222 andis pulled into the nip 204. The vacuum puck 224 can cease drawing vacuumat this point to release the leading half. Correspondingly, the trailinghalf of the pant 102 is pulled around the upper nose roll 218. Thus,both halves of the training pant 102 can change from motion in agenerally vertical plane to motion between the folding conveyors 206 and208 in a generally horizontal plane.

The illustrated folding mechanism 202 can maintain separation betweenthe front and back side panels 34 and 134. As the pant 102 enters thefolding nip 204, compressed air can be shut off to the upper nose roll218 so that the side panels 34 of the trailing half are drawn by vacuumto the upper nose roll. The trailing side panels 34 are thus drawn tothe upper nose roll 218 and follow its rotation around the roll and overa side panel separation plates 230 (FIGS. 8 and 10). Similarly, as theleading half of the pant 102 is pulled into the folding nip 204,compressed air can be shut off to the lower nose roll 219 so that theside panels 134 of the leading half are drawn by vacuum to the lowernose roll. The leading side panels 134 are thus drawn to the lower noseroll 219 and follow its rotation around the roll and beneath the sidepanel separation plates 230.

FIG. 10 illustrates a portion of a partially assembled training pant 102positioned between the upper and lower folding conveyors 206 and 208 ata location downstream of the nose rolls 218 and 219. At this point, thetraining pant 102 has been folded in half and is being transported inthe machine direction 108 by the conveyors 206 and 208. The illustratedfolding mechanism 202 can thus maintain the front side panels 34separated from the back side panels 134 during folding.

Each folding conveyor 206 and 208 as illustrated in greater detail inFIG. 10 can comprise a frame structure 210, a plurality of rotatablepulleys 211 associated with the frame structure, and a continuous belt212 carried on the pulleys. A drive system and conveyor shaft (notshown) can be used to rotatively drive one or more of the pulleys. Thefolding conveyors 206 and 208 can comprise vacuum conveyors as are wellknown in the art, in which case the continuous belt 212 can be formed ofa fluid permeable material, such as one having holes. The foldingconveyors desirably transport the training pants 102 with thelongitudinal center line of the training pants traveling on thelongitudinal center line of the conveyors. As depicted, the front andback side panels 34 and 134 can project laterally outward from the framestructure 210, outstretched in the cross-machine direction.

While traveling on the folding conveyors 206 and 208, the side panels 34and 134 can be smoothed out or straightened if desired by various meansincluding fluid stabilizing devices (not shown in FIG. 10). Suitablefluid stabilizing devices can comprise air knives, air bars, airnozzles, vacuum nozzles or the like to provide a stream of fluiddirected toward or away from the side panels. The fluid stabilizingdevices can be incorporated within either or both of the foldingconveyors 206 and 208 or can comprise separate devices positioned inproximity to the conveyors. Other suitable mechanisms for smoothing andstraightening the side panels 34 and 134 are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,046,272 issued Sep. 10, 1991 to Vogt et al., which is incorporatedherein by reference. The terms “air” and “fluid” are usedinterchangeably herein to refer to any gaseous substance, for example,air at ambient temperature. Where the specific application permits, theterm “fluid” also includes any liquid medium.

As a result of the illustrated folding mechanism 202, the front waistregion 22 and front side panel 34 of the partially assembled trainingpant 102 are disposed above the back waist region 24 and back side panel134. The first fastening component 83 is disposed on the inner surface28 of the back waist region 24 and the second fastening component 85 isdisposed on the outer surface 30 of the front waist region 22. In theillustrated embodiment, the transverse linear distance between the firstfastening components 82 and 83 is the same as the transverse lineardistance between the second fastening components 84 and 85. Theorientation and/or type of the side panels and the fastening componentscan of course be varied from that illustrated.

The separation plates 230 can extend in the machine direction 108 tomaintain separation between the front and back side panels 34 and 134.The separation plates 230 can comprise a low friction material orcoating, such as: stainless steel; teflon; aluminum; ultra-highmolecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE); polyoxymethylene (acetals), forinstance a homopolymer available from E. I. Du Pont de Nemours andCompany, Wilmington, Del. USA under the tradename DELRIN; or the like.In particular embodiments, the separation plates 230 can comprise a thinlayer of teflon, UHMW-PE, DELRIN or the like glued to a plate formed ofsteel, aluminum or the like. The separation plates can be mounted usingsuitable support members 232 (FIG. 10) to either the folding conveyors206 or 208 or other suitable frame structures (not shown).

From the folding station 200, the continuous stream of discrete,partially assembled and folded training pants 102 enters a seamingsection 250, an embodiment of which is shown in FIG. 3. The seamingsection 250 can encompass processes and apparatus for controlling theunattached side panels 34 and 134, inverting the fastening components onone pair of side panels, guiding the opposite fastening components intocross-machine direction position with the inverted fastening components,and bonding the fastening components together to form a lap seam. Ingeneral, the process and apparatus bend or fold the front or back sidepanels 34 or 134 approximately 180 degrees using an air flow, solidmember, or other suitable device. Additionally, side panel transferdevices 330 can move laterally outward portions of the opposite sidepanels toward the machine center line so that the fastening componentson the opposite side panels are positioned in a correspondingcross-machine direction location as the inverted fastening components.The fastening components can then be brought into contact with oneanother. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the side panels arerefastenably bonded together using mating mechanical fasteningcomponents 82-85, although other fastening mechanisms can also be used.The seaming section 250 can thus convert the partially assembled andfolded training pants 102 into prefastened training pants 20 each havinga waist opening 50 and a pair of leg openings 52 (FIG. 4). Theillustrated seaming section 250 could of course be inverted so that thelower side panel forms the inner side panel of the lap seam (not shown).From the seaming section 250, the training pants 20 can be processedthrough various finishing stations 254, for operations such as sidepanel tucking, packaging, or the like.

The partially assembled training pants 102 can be transported in themachine direction 108 through the seaming section 250 by a transportsystem, such as conveyors. In the illustrated embodiment, the trainingpants 102 are transferred from the upper and lower folding conveyors 206and 208 (FIGS. 2 and 8-10) to upper and lower alignment conveyors 256and 258 (FIGS. 3 and 11-18). As illustrated, the upper alignmentconveyor 256 can comprise a frame structure 260, one or more vacuumchambers 262 defined within the frame structure, one or more vacuumcover plates 264 mounted on the frame structure and one or morecontinuous fluid-permeable belts 266 carried on a plurality of rotatablepulleys 268 (FIGS. 3, 11 and 15) or other suitable devices. Similarly,the lower alignment conveyor 258 can comprise a frame structure 270, avacuum chamber 272 defined within the frame structure, a vacuum coverplate 274 mounted on the frame structure and a continuousfluid-permeable belt 276 carried on a plurality of rotatable pulleys 278(FIGS. 3, 11 and 15) or other suitable devices. The vacuum cover plates264 and 274 and related equipment can be adjustable if desired toaccommodate various product sizes. A drive system and conveyor shaft(not shown) can be used to rotatively drive one or more of the pulleys268 and 278. The vacuum chambers 262 and 272 can be operativelyconnected to a source of vacuum (not shown) and the vacuum cover plates264 and 274 can be provided with a plurality of holes 269 and 279,respectively. Suitable conveyor mechanisms such as vacuum conveyors ornon-vacuum conveyors are available from various commercial vendors. Thetransport system can comprise any means to convey the folded products.

Formation of the side panel lap seam will be described in greater detailwith reference to FIGS. 11-20. FIGS. 11 and 15 show enlarged side viewsof portions of the seaming section 250. FIGS. 12-14 and 16-18 illustratesection views of a portion of a training pant 102 positioned within theseaming section 250 at a series of continually advancing positions. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the front side panels 34 carrying the secondfastening components 84 and 85 (85 shown) form the interior side panelof the lap seam, and the back side panels 134 carrying the firstfastening components 82 and 83 (83 shown) form the exterior side panelof the lap seam. The description will focus on the formation of a lapseam and bonding the side panels 34 and 134 together on one side of thetraining pant 102, although it should be recognized that a lap seam canbe formed on the other side of the training pant in a similar manner.The refastenable seams 88 can be formed simultaneously or sequentiallyon the right and left sides of the pant 102.

For purposes of the present invention, the first fastening components 82and 83 will be referred to as the initially inward-facing fasteners 82and 83 because they are positioned between the corresponding left orright side panels when the product is folded in half but prior toformation of the lap seam, and the second fastening components 84 and 85will also be referred to herein as the initially outward-facingfasteners 84 and 85 because they are on a surface of a side panel thatfaces away from the other side panel when the product is folded in halfbut prior to formation of the lap seam. In an alternative embodiment,the training pant 102 could be processed through the seaming section 250in an inside-out arrangement, in which case the first fasteningcomponents 82 and 83 would be considered the initially outward-facingfasteners and the second fastening components 84 and 85 would beconsidered the initially inward-facing fasteners (not shown).

FIG. 12 illustrates the training pant 102, positioned between the upperand lower alignment conveyors 256 and 258 at a location downstream ofthe location illustrated in FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 12, the initiallyoutward-facing fasteners 84 and 85 face the upper alignment conveyor256. The upper alignment conveyor 256, as illustrated, can have anoperative width that is narrower than the full product width. Morespecifically, the outermost holes 269 of the upper vacuum cover plate264 can be positioned at locations which corresponds in the crossmachine direction with portions of the side panels 34 that are slightlyinward from the initially outward-facing fasteners 84 and 85.Alternatively, at least at the machine direction location depicted inFIGS. 12 and 13, the upper alignment conveyor 256 could comprise a fullwidth vacuum conveyor, wherein the full width of the waist region of thetraining pant 102 can be held by vacuum against the upper conveyor belt266. The upper alignment conveyor 256 can operate over a range ofvacuum, for example, a vacuum of about 2 inches of water or greaterbelow atmospheric pressure.

The lower alignment conveyor 258 can be relatively narrow compared tothe upper alignment conveyor 256 and can have a width, for example,equal to the width of the absorbent chassis 32, which permits the backside panels 134 to extend laterally beyond the lower alignment conveyor.In one particular embodiment, the width of the lower alignment conveyor258 generally corresponds to the distance between the seams 66 (FIGS.5-6) which bond the side panels 34 and 134 to the absorbent chassis 32.The level of vacuum is preferably sufficient to maintain the waistregions 22 and 24 on their respective alignment conveyors, as the waistregions may not be pinched between the conveyors. Vacuum control of thewaist regions will improve positioning and alignment of the side panels34 and 134. The lower alignment conveyor 258 can operate over a range ofvacuum, for example, a vacuum of about 2 to about 8 inches of water orgreater below atmospheric pressure.

At the location illustrated in FIG. 12, the back side panels 134 aredisposed laterally outward from the lower alignment conveyor 258. Theinitially inward-facing fasteners 82 and 83 (83 shown) are disposed onthe back side panels 134 facing the front side panels 34. The back sidepanels 134 can be smoothed out or straightened in the seaming section250 if desired by various means including fluid stabilizing devices. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the back side panels 134 can be outstretchedin the cross machine direction and held in that position by side paneltransfer devices 330.

FIG. 13 illustrates the training pant 102, between the upper and loweralignment conveyors 256 and 258 at a location downstream of the locationillustrated in FIG. 12. The back waist region 24 can continue to betransported in the machine direction 108 by the lower alignment conveyor258 with the back side panels 134 being held and transported in themachine direction by the side panel transfer devices 330. At this pointin the seaming section 250, folding guides 267 can be introduced and theconveyors 256 and 258 can be spaced apart a sufficient distance topermit 180 degree inward folding of the initially outward-facingfasteners 84 and 85 (85 shown). The gap between the conveyors 256 and258 may depend upon the size of the initially outwardly-facing fasteners84 and 85, and can be, for example, about 2 centimeters. The distancebetween the alignment conveyors 256 and 258 can be constant or can varyover the machine direction length of the conveyors.

At the machine direction locations illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, theupper alignment conveyor 256 can have an operative vacuum width that isless than the full width of the training pant 102 in the front waistregion 22, and less than or equal to the distance between the initiallyoutward-facing fasteners 84 and 85. At these locations, the laterallyoutward portions of the front side panels 34 that include the initiallyoutward-facing fasteners 84 and 85 are not held by vacuum to the upperalignment conveyor. The width of vacuum drawn by the upper alignmentconveyor 256 can be modified to accommodate different size products. Thewidth of the upper alignment conveyor 256 can be adjusted by variousmeans, including varying the pattern of holes 269 in the vacuum coverplate 264 or utilizing multiple independent vacuum chambers (not shown).

The upper alignment conveyor 256 can provide a uniform or nonuniformvacuum profile in the cross machine direction. In particularembodiments, the upper alignment conveyor 256 can draw a nonuniformvacuum in the cross-machine direction. Specifically, the upper alignmentconveyor 256 can draw a concentrated vacuum at laterally outward regionsas well as some area of vacuum in a central region disposed between thelaterally outward regions. The laterally outward regions can bepositioned such that they correspond to locations of the front sidepanels 34 immediately laterally inward from the locations of theinitially outward-facing fasteners 84 and 85. The concentrated vacuumadjacent the inside edge of the initially outward-facing fasteners 84and 85 can encourage the inside edge of the fasteners 84 and 85 tofunction as a hinge point for folding. The concentrated vacuum can beformed by a plurality of slots or an increase in the number of aperturesin the vacuum cover plate 264, by separate vacuum chambers, or the like.The focused vacuum in the central region can reduce energy consumptionand lessen draw of the back side panels 134 toward the upper alignmentconveyor 256.

At the machine direction location illustrated in FIG. 14, each foldingguide 267 can narrow to a finger to form a guide for a consistent fold.Thus each folding guide 267 can have a relatively wider portion at theupstream end an a relatively narrower finger extending downstream fromthe wider portion in a cantilevered configuration. The fingers can actas a hinge point for folding.

In the orientation illustrated in FIG. 14, the laterally outwardportions of the front side panel 34, including the initiallyoutward-facing fasteners 84 and 85, tend to drop from gravity away fromthe upper alignment conveyor 256. Nonetheless, a mechanical or fluidassist or other panel folding device 320 can be used to inwardly foldthe laterally outward portions of the front side panels 34, includingthe initially outward-facing fasteners 84 and 85, through approximately180 degrees. Panel folding devices 320 can also be employed inalternative product orientations, for example, where the initiallyoutwardly-facing fasteners are facing downward (not shown) and foldingmust overcome gravity. In either case, the panel folding devices 320 canassist or can inwardly fold the front side panels 34 onto themselvessuch that the initially outward-facing fasteners 84 and 85 are facingthe opposite side panels 134 and opposite waist region 24. As noted bycomparing FIGS. 12 and 16, inward folding of the side panels 34 cancause the initially outward-facing fasteners 84 and 85 (85 shown) tomove laterally inward and be positioned closer to the training pantlongitudinal center line and the machine center line.

The panel folding device 320 can comprise, for example, one or more airnozzles (FIG. 14) to blow the laterally outward portions of the frontside panels 34, including the initially outward-facing fasteners 84 and85, to a horizontal orientation directed toward the center line of theupper alignment conveyor 256. The panel folding device 320 can operateon a continuous or timed intermittent basis, and can progressively foldthe side panels 34 or fold the side panels as a single unit. The panelfolding device 320 can alternatively comprise other mechanisms forcreating a suitable force to fold or assist to fold the front sidepanels 34. The panel folding device 320 can alternatively comprise, forexample, folding boards or skis which fold the top panel over 180degrees; a helical surface that pushes the front side panels into thefolded configuration; or the like. Once folded inward, the side panels34 can continue to travel in the machine direction 108 in contact withthe folding guides 267. Alternatively, the folding guides 267 can endand the laterally outward portions of the side panels may be drawntoward the upper alignment conveyor 256 by vacuum operating through thefolded side panels. In such embodiments, the front side panels 34 willbe held by vacuum in a folded configuration.

Use of the terms “vertical” and “horizontal” and variations thereof havetheir usual meaning, however, the present invention contemplates thatvertical surfaces can be “generally vertically” disposed if desired andwould thus be oriented between the true vertical position and about a 45degree position relative to the true vertical position. The sameinterpretation for “generally horizontally” disposed means anorientation between the true horizontal and about a 45 degree positionrelative thereto. The terms “upper” and “lower” are provided for ease ofunderstanding, and it should be recognized that the spatial arrangementof the elements being described could be inverted or arranged in anothermanner.

As the training pants 102 move in the machine direction 108, the backside panels 134 can be transferred to side panel transfer devices 330(FIGS. 3 and 11-20). As depicted in FIGS. 16-18, the side panel transferdevices 330 can elevate the laterally outer portions of the back sidepanels 134, including the initially inward-facing fasteners 82 and 83(83 shown), relative to the lower alignment conveyor 258. Morespecifically, the alignment conveyors 256 and 258 define therebetween ata specific machine direction location a pant transport plane in whichthe training pants 102 are carried. The side panel transfer devices 330carry the side panels on a side panel transport path which is angledwith respect to the pant transport plane at such specific machinedirection location, so that the pant transport plane and the side paneltransport path intersect one another. Consequently, the side paneltransfer devices 330 move portions of the back side panels 134 in a“z-direction” perpendicular to the pant transport plane. In doing so,the initially inward-facing fasteners 82 and 83 can move laterallyinward toward the center line of the lower alignment conveyor 258 andtoward the longitudinal center line of the training pants 102. Withfurther elevation, the side panel transfer devices 330 can also form anip with the upper alignment conveyor 256 to engage the fasteningcomponents 82-85 (see FIG. 18).

As illustrated, the side panel transfer devices 330 can comprise vacuumconveyors which elevate the bottom side panel 134 toward the upperalignment conveyor 256. For purposes of the present invention, the sidepanel transfer devices 330 are said to be angled toward the panttransport plane at downstream machine direction locations, when the sidepanel transport path advances closer to the operative surface of atleast one alignment conveyor at further downstream positions. The sidepanel transfer devices 330 can comprise, for example, frame structures332, a plurality of rotatable pulleys 334 (FIGS. 11 and 15) associatedwith the frame structures, vacuum chambers 336 defined within the framestructures, vacuum cover plates 338 mounted on the frame structures, andcontinuous belts 340 carried on the pulleys. A drive mechanism andconveyor shaft (not shown) can be used to rotatively drive one or moreof the pulleys 334. The side panel transfer devices 330 can be alignedparallel to the machine direction of the lower alignment conveyor 258 orcan be canted inward or outward, for example, to improve side panelalignment with the machine direction.

FIGS. 19 and 20 isometrically and schematically illustrate a back sidepanel 134 at a sequence of positions on a side panel transfer device330. The positions are labeled 134-A, 134-B and 134-C in FIG. 20 inorder of advancement in the machine direction 108. With the loweralignment conveyor 258 holding the central portion of the training pant102 and, in particular the absorbent chassis 32, against the conveyorbelt 276 (not shown in FIGS. 19 or 20), the laterally outward portionsof the back side panel 134 advance transversely inward as the back sidepanel 134 is elevated from the plane of the lower alignment conveyor 258by the upwardly inclined side panel transfer device 330. In effect, theback side panel 134 can be allowed to gradually slip partly off theinward edge 342 of the side panel transfer device 330, desirably to thepoint where the position of the initially inward-facing fastener 83 isaligned in the cross-machine direction with its corresponding initiallyoutward-facing fastener 85 (see FIG. 18). Because relative movement ofthe back side panels 134 and the lower alignment conveyor 258 generatestransversely inward movement of the initially inwardly-directedfasteners 82 and 83, the back side panels 134 could alternatively bemaintained at a constant horizontal position on the side panel transferdevices 330 while the lower alignment conveyor 258 is angled away fromthe side panel transfer devices.

In particular embodiments, the lower alignment conveyor 258 can maintainthe full width of the absorbent chassis 32 in contact with the conveyorbelt. Maintaining the full width of the absorbent chassis 32 on theconveyor belt can prevent skewing of the back side panels 134 as theyare lifted and can provide maximum inward movement of the fasteners 82and 83 for a given amount of vertical lift. Tucking guides 277 can beintroduced if needed to assist in holding the back side panels 134.Tucking guides 277 can be particularly useful with embodiments where thelower alignment conveyor 258 provides less than full width vacuum. Withreference to FIGS. 16, 17 and 19, the illustrated tucking guides 277 aremounted on the side panel transfer devices 330 and define cantileveredarms 280. As best seen by comparing FIGS. 16 and 17, the arms 280 can bemounted at an angle relative to the side panel transport path defined bythe side panel transfer devices 330. The arms 280 can be mountedparallel to the pant transport plane, such that the arms can maintainthe position of interior portions of the back side panels 134 as theside panel transfer devices 330 lift exterior portions of the back sidepanels. The arms 280 can extend further downstream, for example to orpast the point of engagement of the fastening components (FIG. 18), ifdesired.

The amount of z-direction movement and cross-machine direction movementof portions of the side panels will depend on several factors, includingrelative width and positioning of the side panels, the size of thefastening components, the spacing between the side panel transferdevices 330 and the alignment conveyors, the width of vacuum on thealignment conveyors, the location of side panel folding if employed, theuse of tucking guides 277, and the like. By way of illustration, theinitially inward-facing fastener 83-84 in one embodiment can be elevatedapproximately 50 millimeters from the plane of the lower alignmentconveyor 258 to provide approximately 20 millimeters of inward movementtoward the longitudinal center line of the training pant 102.

Again with reference to FIG. 18, toward the downstream end of the sidepanel transfer devices 330, the initially inward-facing fasteners 82 and83 (83 shown) can be moved transversely inward to a position whichcorresponds to the cross-machine position of the initiallyoutward-facing fastener 84 and 85 (85 shown). Additionally, theinitially inward-facing fasteners 82 and 83 can be lifted into closeproximity and desirably into engagement with the initiallyoutward-facing fasteners 84 and 85. The spacing between the downstreamends of the side panel transfer devices 330 and the upper alignmentconveyor 256 can be adjusted to control the level of engagement betweenthe fasteners 82-85. In particular, downstream rolls 334 (FIG. 15) ofthe side panel transfer devices 330 can be positioned to nip thefasteners together. The illustrated side panel transfer devices 330 canprovide progressive inward motion on the full width of the bottom sidepanels 134 and progressive attachment in the machine direction of thefastening components 82-85.

The side panel transfer devices 330 can be positioned at the samemachine direction 108 location in the seaming section 250.Alternatively, the side panel transfer devices 330 can be staggered inthe machine direction 108 to allow for cross-machine directionmovement-control devices or operations used in combination with a singleside panel transfer device. The cross-machine direction movement-controldevices or operations can comprise any suitable devices or operationswhich maintain cross-machine direction control of the training pant 102during operation of the side panel transfer device.

An alternative embodiment of the method and apparatus for making atraining pant 102 are illustrated in FIGS. 21-24. First and secondfastening components 400 and 401 are disposed on respective first andsecond integral side panels 402 and 403. The first fastening component400 comprises a distal region of the first side panel 402 which isengageable with the second fastening component 401. The second fasteningcomponent 401 as illustrated was previously inverted and can be held inplace by the upper alignment conveyor 256. As the training pant 102 istransported in the machine direction, the first side panel 402 can bepositioned on and can slide over a guide plate 406, which is curved inthe machine direction and formed of a suitable low friction material.

FIG. 22 illustrates the training pant 102 between the upper and lowerconveyors 256 and 258 at a location downstream of the locationillustrated in FIG. 21. The first side panel 402 is caused to remain inclose proximity to or contact with the curved guide plate 406. Tuckingguides, air nozzles, or other suitable devices (not shown) can be usedto assist in holding the first side panel 402 against the guide plate406. For example, an air bar (not shown) can be disposed between theconveyors 256 and 258 from the position illustrated in FIG. 21 throughthe position illustrated in FIG. 23 to direct air toward the first sidepanel 402.

With the lower alignment conveyor 258 holding the central portion of thetraining pant 102 against the conveyor belt 276, the laterally outwardportions of the first side panel 402 advance transversely inward as thefirst side panel 400 is shaped on the curved guide plate 406. Inparticular embodiments, the curvature of the guide plate 406 can bedetermined so that the first fastening component 400 is inwardlyrepositioned to the point where the first fastening component is alignedin the cross-machine direction with its corresponding second fasteningcomponent 401. The fastening components 400 and 401 are shown aligned inthe cross-machine direction in FIG. 23.

As further depicted in FIG. 23, the first side panel 402 can betransitioned from the curved guide plate 406 onto a side panel transferdevice 330. The side panel transfer device 330 can be constructed in thesame manner as previously described and thus is not shown in detail.With additional reference to FIG. 24, the side panel transfer device 330can elevate the laterally outer portions of the first side panel 402toward the second side panel 404. In particular, the side panel transferdevice 330 can define a side panel transport path which is angled withrespect to the pant transport plane, so that the first fasteningcomponent 400 can be transported in the z-direction into proximity to orengagement with the second fastening component 401. Tucking guides (seeFIG. 19) can be disposed between the conveyors and in contact with thefirst side panel 402 from the position illustrated in FIG. 23 throughthe position illustrated in FIG. 24. Because the desired cross-machinedirection position of the first fastening component 400 had previouslybeen established (FIGS. 21-23), the first side panel 402 can bemaintained at a constant cross-machine direction position while the pant102 is transported in the machine direction and the side panel resideson the side panel transfer device 330.

The side panel transfer devices 330 can alternatively comprise otherdevices for sequentially or simultaneously affecting upward and inwardrelative movement of the laterally outward portions of the back sidepanel 134 and the initially inward-facing fasteners 82 and 83 disposedthereon. By way of illustration, suitable side panel transfer devices330 can alternatively comprise disks or wheels, either aligned in themachine direction 108 or canted and/or tilted relative thereto so thatthe disks or wheels raise the side panels and nip the fastenerstogether. Suitable wheel devices can, but need not, be timed ellipticalwheels, and can comprise vacuum or traction surface wheels or the like.Still alternatively, the side panel transfer devices 330 can comprise4-bar linkage mechanisms carrying a panel engagement head which contactsthe back side panel 134 to raise the panel relative to the plane of thelower alignment conveyor 258. The rotary motion provided by the 4-barlinkage can allow the panel engagement head to raise a back side panel134 relative to the lower alignment conveyor 258, with the back sidepanel being allowed to slip off the inward edge of the panel engagementhead. A drive mechanism for the 4-bar linkage can be programmed to varythe angular velocity of the panel-engagement head such that its velocityin the machine direction 108 matches the speed of the back side panel134 while the panel-engagement head is in contact with the back sidepanel. Alternatively, the angular velocity of the panel-engagement headcan be matched with the velocity of the side panel using a cam gearbox,non-circular gearing, or the like. Such devices could further comprise afeedback system to register the panel-engagement head to the back sidepanel 134. In yet another alternative embodiment, the side paneltransfer devices 330 can comprise folding boards or folding skis toprovide sequential or simultaneous inward and upward relative movementof the laterally outward portions of the back side panels 134 and theinwardly directed fasteners 82 and 83.

In the illustrated process, the initially outward-facing fasteners 84and 85 are directed upward against an upper alignment conveyor 256.Alternatively, the process could be inverted such that the initiallyoutward-facing fasteners 84 and 85 are directed downward against a lowerfastener conveyor or surface (not shown). As mentioned above, thelaterally outward portions of the side panels which carry the initiallyoutward-facing fasteners may need mechanical or fluid assist to initiateinward folding. Additionally, other changes, as will readily be apparentto those skilled in the art, may be required, such as changes to thewidth of the conveyors, orientation of fluid devices, and insertion ofskid plates to maintain the position of side panels.

Thus, the methods and apparatus disclosed herein can provide precise lapseams at high-speeds in garments such as training pants 20. From foldedproducts having side panels with both initially outward-facing fastenersand initially inward-facing fasteners, the side panels can be separatedto provide clearance for inward folding of one pair of side panels, theside panels with the initially outward-facing fasteners can be inwardlyfolded 180 degrees, and the initially inward-facing fasteners can bemoved transversely inward to the position of the previously folded,initially outward-facing fasteners. It will be appreciated that detailsof the foregoing embodiments, given for purposes of illustration, arenot to be construed as limiting the scope of this invention. Althoughonly a few exemplary embodiments of this invention have been describedin detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate thatmany modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments withoutmaterially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of thisinvention. For example, features described in relation to one embodimentmay be incorporated into any other embodiment of the invention.Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included withinthe scope of this invention, which is defined in the following claimsand all equivalents thereto. Further, it is recognized that manyembodiments may be conceived that do not achieve all of the advantagesof some embodiments, particularly of the preferred embodiments, yet theabsence of a particular advantage shall not be construed to necessarilymean that such an embodiment is outside the scope of the presentinvention.

We claim:
 1. A method for positioning side panels during manufacture ofa pant, comprising: transporting a pant in a machine direction thusdefining a pant transport plane and a z-direction perpendicular to thepant transport plane, the pant comprising at least one waist regioncomprising opposite side panels; and positioning the side panels on sidepanel transfer devices, each side panel transfer device comprising avacuum conveyor defining a side panel transport path which intersectsthe pant transport plane; whereby the side panels move in thez-direction while the pant is transported in the machine direction andthe side panels reside on the vacuum conveyors.
 2. The method of claim1, further comprising allowing at least portions of the side panels tomove inwardly toward a machine center line while the pant is transportedin the machine direction and the side panels reside on the side paneltransfer devices.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprisingmaintaining the side panels at a constant cross-machine directionposition while the pant is transported in the machine direction and theside panels reside on the side panel transfer devices.
 4. A method formaking a prefastened and refastenable pant, comprising: transporting afolded pant in a machine direction, the folded pant having oppositefirst and second waist regions in facing relation, the first waistregion comprising first side panels and the second waist regioncomprising second side panels, the first side panels comprisinginitially inward-facing fastening components, and the second side panelscomprising initially outward-facing fastening components; inverting theinitially outward-facing fastening components; transporting the firstside panels on side panel transfer devices while the folded pant istransported in the machine direction; moving the initially inward-facingfastening components toward the inverted initially outward-facingfastening components while the first side panels are transported on theside panel transfer devices; and engaging the initially inward-facingand initially outward-facing fastening components.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein transporting the folded pant in the machine directiondefines a pant transport plane and each side panel transfer devicedefines a side panel transport path which intersects the pant transportplane.
 6. The method of claim 4, further comprising allowing at leastportions of the first side panels to move inwardly toward a machinecenter line while the folded pant is transported in the machinedirection and the first side panels reside on the side panel transferdevices.
 7. The method of claim 4, further comprising maintaining thefirst side panels at a constant cross-machine direction position whilethe folded pant is transported in the machine direction and the firstside panels reside on the side panel transfer devices.
 8. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the initially inward-facing fastening components areseparated from one another by an initial distance and the initiallyoutward-facing fastening components are separated from one another bysubstantially the same initial distance.
 9. The method of claim 4,wherein inverting the initially outward-facing fastening componentscomprises drawing a concentrated vacuum on the second side panelsimmediately laterally inward from the initially outward-facing fasteningcomponents.
 10. The method of claim 4, wherein inverting the initiallyoutward-facing fastening components comprises folding the second sidepanels against folding guides.
 11. A method for making a pant,comprising: providing a pant chassis defining a first waist region, asecond waist region, a crotch region which extends between andinterconnects the waist regions, first side panels disposed in the firstwaist region and second side panels disposed in the second waist region,the first and second waist regions having substantially the sametransverse width dimension; folding the pant chassis about a fold lineextending in a lateral direction through the crotch region, therebypositioning the waist regions and first and second side panels in afacing relation; transporting the folded pant chassis in a machinedirection thus defining a pant transport plane and a z-directionperpendicular to the pant transport plane; transporting the first sidepanels on side panel transfer devices while the folded pant chassis istransported in the machine direction, each side panel transfer devicedefining a side panel transport path which intersects the pant transportplane; moving the first side panels in the z-direction toward the secondside panels while the first side panels are transported on the sidepanel transfer devices; and refastenably engaging the first and secondside panels.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising allowing atleast portions of the first side panels to move inwardly toward amachine center line while the folded pant is transported in the machinedirection and the first side panels reside on the side panel transferdevices.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the portions of the firstside panels are moved inwardly such that fastening components disposedon the first side panels are aligned in a cross machine direction withfastening components disposed on the second side panels.
 14. The methodof claim 11, further comprising advancing laterally outward portions ofthe first side panels transversely inward, and then maintaining thefirst side panels at a constant cross-machine direction position whilethe folded pant is transported in the machine direction and the firstside panels reside on the side panel transfer devices.
 15. A method formaking a pant, comprising: providing a pant chassis defining a firstwaist region, a second waist region, a crotch region which extendsbetween and interconnects the waist regions, first side panels disposedin the first waist region and second side panels disposed in the secondwaist region; folding the pant chassis about a fold line extending in alateral direction through the crotch region, thereby positioning thewaist regions and first and second side panels in a facing relation;transporting the folded pant chassis in a machine direction thusdefining a pant transport plane and a z-direction perpendicular to thepant transport plane; transporting the first side panels on side paneltransfer devices while the folded pant chassis is transported in themachine direction, each side panel transfer device defining a side paneltransport path which intersects the pant transport plane; moving thefirst side panels in the z-direction toward the second side panels whilethe first side panels are transported on the side panel transferdevices; and refastenably engaging the first and second side panels; andfurther comprising folding the second side panels prior to refastenablyengaging the first and second side panels.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein fastening components are disposed on the second side panels andare inverted by folding the second side panels.
 17. A method for makinga pant, comprising: providing a pant chassis defining a first waistregion, a second waist region, a crotch region which extends between andinterconnects the waist regions, first side panels disposed in the firstwaist region and second side panels disposed in the second waist region;folding the pant chassis about a fold line extending in a lateraldirection through the crotch region, thereby positioning the waistregions and first and second side panels in a facing relation;transporting the folded pant chassis in a machine direction thusdefining a pant transport plane and a z-direction perpendicular to thepant transport plane; transporting the first side panels on side paneltransfer devices while the folded pant chassis is transported in themachine direction, each side panel transfer device defining a side paneltransport path which intersects the pant transport plane; moving thefirst side panels in the z-direction toward the second side panels whilethe first side panels are transported on the side panel transferdevices; and refastenably engaging the first and second side panels;wherein the second side panels comprise initially outward-facingfastening components and the second side panels are inwardly folded suchthat the initially outward-facing fastening components are facing thefirst side panels.